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SUBIC
BAY FREE PORT—After the hardware, here comes the
software.
Subic
shipbuilder Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction Co.
is now putting up a research and development (R&D)
project here, apparently to speed up its shipbuilding
program in the free port and broaden its exposure in the
local maritime industry.
Subic
Bay Metropolitan Authority (SBMA) administrator Armand
Arreza said Hanjin has put up the HHIC-Tech Inc. to
focus on the information technology (IT) component of
its naval architecture projects here.
The new
venture, which is projected to employ 196 technicians,
is worth $11.9 million, thereby putting Hanjin’s total
capital exposure in Subic at $1.695 billion.
“This
will be another plus for
Subic’s maritime
industry because this new company will be introducing
new technology and exposing local workers to the latest
industry trends,” Arreza said.
“What
Subic got earlier from the shipyard project was the
hardware part of the business. Now we’re getting the
software component, which is just as essential to any
maritime operation,” he added.
According to a project profile from the SBMA
Manufacturing and Maritime Business Department (MMBD),
HHIC-Tech would mainly undertake research and
development (R&D) studies, and provide technical
support, advisory and consultancy services, as well as
IT-enabled services.
The firm
would specialize in computer-aided design, electronic
data retrieval, electronic directory and library, and
structural ship drafting. As an R&D outfit, it would
also draft and train personnel to supply industry needs,
the MMBD said.
MMBD
manager Ronnie Yambao also disclosed that HHIC Tech
would not only provide services to its parent company,
the HHIC-Philippines Inc., but would also target
client-businesses that are engaged in shipyard
operation, maritime construction and repair, maritime
export and distribution.
While
the new firm would be seeking customers with businesses
in mortgaging, pledging and disposing of ocean-going
vessels, ship instruments and accessories, as well as
parts and supplies, the new firm would not be involved
in public utility operations, Yambao clarified.
The
establishment of Hanjin-Tech came after Hanjin
inaugurated last month the first phase of its Subic
shipyard project, a 2.3-million-sqm global shipbuilding
base seven times bigger than its original facility in
Busan.
Hanjin
officials earlier said its world-class shipbuilding
facility here will produce some of the world’s largest
sea vessels, including liquefied natural gas (LNG)
supertankers, very large crude carriers (VLCCs), and
container ships.
As of
the end of 2007, the
Subic shipyard
has already received orders for 40 units of cargo
vessels, company officials also said.
Arreza
also said on Tuesday that the SBMA has extended the
lease by HHIC-Philippines of the Lower Mau loading area
here, which is used by the company to load heavy
equipment and materials ferried across the bay to its
Redondo Peninsula shipyard.
“We’re
extending to Hanjin all the support we can give in
recognition of its growing investments in Subic, and its
equally huge role in generating employment for local
residents,” said the SBMA official.
Arreza
noted that the South Korean company has put the
Philippines on the shipbuilding map when it first
invested $1 billion for the shipbuilding facility here
two years ago.
Last
year, the firm announced additional investments worth
$684 million to cover costs for several ship orders that
it has received from various shipping companies around
the world. |
